TRAVEL Counsellors is looking to recruit travel agency owners and their staff as its move into franchising gathers pace, with a new agent joining the company every day in May.
Travel Counsellors founder and chairman David Speakman said the franchise model now makes Travel Counsellors a viable option for agencies to run their businesses and keep their staff without having the overheads of running a high-street shop.
“We have had a good response from agencies and it has opened us up to a new market,” said Speakman. “It is also giving the traditional agency a new way to operate away from the high street,” he said.
Agency owners are being targeted through a combination of a direct mail and trade media advertising.
Travel Counsellors managing director Steve Byrne said: “If you are not relying on passing trade for your business then you don’t need a high-street presence.”
Agency owners will still be able to operate as a separate limited company, but will have to trade as Travel Counsellors and not under their existing brand name.
Travel Counsellors is also looking to repeat a programme of regional roadshow sessions that it undertook through April and May where interested agencies could come and meet head-office staff and local Travel Counsellor agents.
The nine roadshows resulted in 30 new agencies joining the company in May, taking its total of counsellors to 630, excluding staff employed by individual franchisees.
“They were enormously successful and gave us the chance to talk face to face with prospective agencies and explain in detail what Travel Counsellors has to offer,” said Byrne.